Page 121 of Leather and Longing
Adam kissed his forehead. “I promise, it’s all real, it’s not going to disappear. And when we get home, we’ll curl up on the couch and say the words all over again.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Paul admitted.
“Then take us home, babe.” Adam wished he could see Paul’s reaction to the endearment. The word feltright.
Paul held the door and Adam eased into the passenger seat. He secured his seatbelt and relaxed against the headrest. Paul got in and switched on the engine. They moved off and Adam let the noise outside the car wash over him.
He’d rarely felt so at peace.
When Paul let out a heavy sigh, the moment shattered.
“What is it?” Adam tensed.
“Can we talk about what happened just now?”
Adam frowned. “I thought that’s what we were doing.” His chest grew tight, that fluttering resuming in his belly.
Paul made a noise at the back of his throat. “No, I mean about… Caroline.”
Adam growled. “Did you have to spoil my mood?”
Paul’s hand was around his in an instant. “Listen to me. As far as Dean is concerned, he can go to hell for all I care. I never want to see the worthless piece of shit again.”
The hard edge to Paul’s voice sent a shiver down Adam’s back. “Yeah, I think I got that.”
“But your sister… that’s different. She’s the only relative you’ve got, beside Dean.”
“And that excuses what she did?” Adam stiffened.
“Fuck, no!” The words flew from Paul. “I think it was selfish and showed no regard for you whatsoever. Okay, she had her reasons, but that’s no excuse.” He paused. “I’m just saying, sooner or later you’ll have to talk to her. Not now. Give things time to settle, yeah?” His voice softened. “She did try to help, right? She interviewed applicants for you, she…” His voice died.
Adam smiled. “You’re trying to come up with good things she did, aren’t you?” He loved that about Paul.
I have a good man.
Paul’s hand tightened around his. “She brought me to you. I’d call that a good thing, wouldn’t you?”
That stopped him in his tracks. “Yes, I would.” For that reason alone, maybe one day he’d forgive her.
Maybe.
Right then everything was too raw, too sharp.
“The one thing I don’t understand? How she thought she’d get away with it.” Adam was still amazed she’d gone as far as contacting a builder.
“It’s not as if we gave her much of an opportunity to present her side of it,” Paul said quietly. “Think about it: Mr. Kennedy said he last spoke with her in when, May?” Adam nodded. “But not since. When were you diagnosed? Mid-May?”
“That’s right.”
“So maybe, yeah, she’d thought about it, spoke with Mr. Kennedy about it, but then everything got turned upside down. When did you decide to move back here?”
Adam thought quickly. “The beginning of July, perhaps a bit later.”
“See?” There was a triumphant note to Paul’s voice. “Know what I think? She changed her mind. Perhaps it was one thing to consider turning the house into a B&B when you were happily living in London and showing no signs of wanting to live on the island. It was quite another when you’d lost your sight and wanted to hide away here.”
Adam caught his breath. “God, you really did get me, didn’t you?” Unlike anyone else who knew him, Paul seemed to be able to see beneath the surface.
Paul stroked his hand before changing gear, and then it was right back to holding his hand again, as if he didn’t want to break their connection.
